Sheikh Hasina

In 1981, while she was still abroad, Sheikh Hasina was elected president of the Bangladesh Awami League. On 17 May 1981, she returned to Bangladesh and took responsibility for rebuilding the party. [source]

She travelled across the country, met party workers, strengthened local committees and reconnected the organisation with farmers, workers, students, women and grassroots communities. During the 1980s, her political work was closely linked to the movement for the restoration of parliamentary democracy.

She organised rallies, led political programmes and worked with other democratic forces against military-backed rule. Through this period, she gradually developed from the daughter of a national leader into the central figure of the Awami League.

The political journey reached a major milestone when the Awami League won the June 1996 parliamentary election, bringing Sheikh Hasina to the office of Prime Minister for the first time. She served from 23 June 1996 to 15 July 2001. [source] [source]

Her first government focused on national reconciliation, regional diplomacy, peace-building and social development. One of its most significant achievements was the 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, signed with India on 12 December 1996. The treaty established a framework for sharing Ganges water during the dry season and remains an important milestone in Bangladesh-India relations. [source]

Another major achievement was the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, signed on 2 December 1997 after more than two decades of conflict. The agreement established a framework for peace, regional administration and the rights of indigenous communities. For her role in advancing peace, Sheikh Hasina received the UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize in 1998. [source]

Her first government also expanded programmes for primary education, food security, rural development, agricultural support and women’s empowerment. The Ashrayan programme, which later became one of the government’s major social initiatives, was designed to provide housing and rehabilitation for landless and homeless families. [source]

The government also promoted roads, bridges and rural connectivity, laying part of the foundation for larger infrastructure programmes pursued after 2009.

From 2009 to 2024, Bangladesh experienced a broad transformation in infrastructure, electricity, education, digital services, industry and social development. [source]

The government introduced the vision of “Digital Bangladesh,” expanded electricity generation and rural electrification, improved roads and bridges, strengthened education programmes and expanded social-safety-net initiatives. [source] The garment industry grew, remittances remained important and the country’s export base gradually expanded.

Large infrastructure projects became central to this period of development. The Padma Bridge, opened in 2022, connected the country’s southwest with Dhaka and became a symbol of national confidence and infrastructure progress. The Dhaka Metro Rail introduced a new form of mass transportation to the capital, while expressways, highways, bridges, power plants, railway improvements and port facilities strengthened national connectivity.

Electricity access expanded sharply. The World Bank reports that Bangladesh reached 99.5% electricity access in 2024. [source] GDP per capita increased from approximately $396.7 in 2000 to $2,593.4 in 2024, measured in current US dollars. [source]

Bangladesh also made progress in reducing poverty, expanding rural infrastructure and improving access to basic services. The World Bank has highlighted the country’s progress in primary-school enrolment, gender parity in education and female labour-force participation. [source] [source]

Digital public services expanded through Union Digital Centres, online education, digital payment systems, mobile financial services and technology-based administration. Citizens gained easier access to birth registration, land records, certificates and other public services. [source]

The government also expanded free textbook distribution, student stipends, agricultural cards, Tk 10 bank accounts for farmers and social-safety-net programmes.

Women occupied an important place in this development story. The World Bank reports that Bangladesh achieved gender parity in school enrolment and that female labour-market participation increased by 32 percentage points between 2000 and 2022. [source]

The garment industry became a major source of employment for women from rural and lower-income households. Women also became increasingly visible in public administration, education, healthcare, law enforcement and local government.

During this period, the government pursued security measures against militant organisations and religious extremism. Following major militant attacks, including the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack, counterterrorism operations were intensified.

Internationally, Bangladesh expanded its relationships with India, China, Japan, the United States, the European Union and countries in the Middle East. Regional connectivity through road, rail, river and energy links also became an important part of the country’s foreign-policy agenda.

Bangladesh’s response to the Rohingya crisis became another major feature of this period. In 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees crossed the border from Myanmar. Bangladesh provided shelter, food, healthcare and education with support from international agencies. By 2023, Bangladesh was hosting around one million Rohingya refugees. [source]

During these years, Bangladesh also graduated from the United Nations category of least developed countries, reflecting progress in income, human development and economic vulnerability indicators. [source]